Announcing The Aligned Builders Hackathon Results

Aligned Layer

— 5 min read
Announcing The Aligned Builders Hackathon Results

We’re thrilled to officially announce the winners of the Aligned Builders Hackathon! The incredible talent and dedication of all participants made this an event to remember, showcasing the potential unlocked by ZKPs and blockchain technologies through the power of new zkVMs, overcoming bottlenecks with fast and cost-efficient verification using Aligned’s Fast Mode.

From ZK-powered light client bridging to private voting apps, a total of 17 complete projects were submitted; check out the full list of submissions through Devfolio here!

A big shout-out to our judges

A huge thank you to our panel of judges for lending their expertise to evaluate the submissions and identify the most impactful projects. They also joined us for a Twitter Spaces session, sharing valuable insights about the hackathon and the potential of ZK applications. You can listen to the recording here.

Meet the judges:

With deep expertise ranging across Ethereum, ZK proofs, and blockchain infrastructure, the judges ensured that the winners reflected the highest levels of technical innovation and real-world impact.

Prize Breakdown

Total Prize Pool: $50,000 USD.

  • 1st Place: $15,000 USD
  • 2nd Place: $10,000 USD
  • Runner-Up Prizes: 5 prizes of $5,000 USD each

Announcing the winners!

Out of 17 amazing project submissions, seven projects stood out for their innovation, technical execution, and potential impact in web3.

🥇 First prize: ZKGameKit featuring Block-Nonce

ZKGameKit solves the challenges game developers face when integrating ZK proofs and blockchain tech. It eliminates the steep learning curve, complexity, and resource-heavy development by offering a ready-to-use framework. With pre-built backend services, real-time game state management, a streamlined ZK verification pipeline, and integration with Aligned, ZKGameKit intends developers to focus on creating engaging games rather than dealing with cryptographic and blockchain intricacies. Block-Nonce, the proof of concept, demonstrates how seamless and accessible ZK-verified gaming can be.

Learn more about ZKGameKit featuring Block-Nonce here!

🥈 Second prize: Spectre-R&D

Spectre, a ZK light client developed by ChainSafe, integrates with Aligned to demonstrate proof-of-concept functionality for light client verification. This implementation showcases a Risc0-based reimplementation of Spectre’s CommitteeUpdateCircuit, complete with modular design for extendability and real-world test data. By verifying merkle roots from a 512-key test dataset, Spectre-R&D highlights how ZK circuits can integrate effectively with Aligned for robust, scalable solutions. This proof of concept demonstrates how Aligned enhances fast and secure light client bridging as part of Sprinter's interoperability solution.

Learn more about Spectre-R&D here!

🏅 Runner-up prizes

Verifiable Nearest-Neighbor Search addresses trust issues in vector databases used for applications like recommendation systems, semantic search, and anomaly detection. By implementing a verifiable nearest-neighbor search using SP1 zkVM, the project ensures that the returned result is genuinely the closest match, eliminating bias or monetized interference. Through recursive similarity queries and batch processing, it overcomes the memory challenges of handling large vectors. Each iteration produces a proof verified on Aligned, ensuring transparency and accuracy in every query.

Learn more about Verifiable Nearest-Neighbor Search here!

2nd Runner-up: ZK-Setu

ZK-Setu provides a secure and user-friendly solution for on-ramp and off-ramp fiat-to-crypto transactions. Leveraging Aligned, it uses escrow contracts and automated payment verification through a payment aggregator to ensure secure and efficient transactions. Users can upload proof of payment via a simple interface, addressing trust issues while reducing fraud risks and streamlining the crypto onboarding process.

Learn more about ZK-Setu here!

3rd Runner-up: AGYSO ZK-DAO-VOTE

AGYSO ZK-DAO-VOTE is a privacy-preserving voting protocol designed for DAOs, combining homomorphic encryption and zero-knowledge proofs to ensure secure and anonymous decision-making. It enables privacy-preserving voting by hiding individual votes while verifying aggregate counts, supports accurate token-weighted voting to reflect members’ holdings, and ensures compliance with voting rules without revealing voter identities. By reducing the risks of retaliation or manipulation, AGYSO ZK-DAO-VOTE fosters a safer, fairer, and more confidential environment for decentralized governance.

Learn more about Agyso ZK-DAO-Vote here!

4th Runner-up: Aligned Fighters

Aligned Fighters showcases Aligned in action through a multiplayer online game where players stake value to duel opponents in strategic, high-stakes battles. By leveraging Aligned’s capabilities for secure and scalable transaction handling, the game processes numerous in-game actions, demonstrating new possibilities for on-chain gaming. This game not only entertains but also educates and engages users with Aligned, aimed for adoption and community interaction.

Learn more about Aligned Fighters here!

5th Runner-up: Zokoban - Aligned Worker

Zokoban reinvents a classic puzzle game by introducing verifiable achievements and decentralized solution verification using the SP1 zkVM. Players can securely submit solutions without revealing them, ensuring fair competition and leaderboard integrity. By removing the need for centralized verification, Zokoban establishes trust and transparency, creating an engaging and equitable gaming experience powered by innovation.

Learn more about Zokoban - Aligned Worker here!

Looking ahead

This hackathon was a valuable learning experience for both us and the participants—and it's just the beginning of our journey together. It’s part of Aligned’s broader mission to support the growth of our ecosystem, accelerate Ethereum's roadmap, and help developers build using ZK.

If you participated in the hackathon (either by submitting a project or experimenting with ideas) please be sure to fill out our developer survey.

We would love to hear any sort of feedback—our mission is to give developers the best experience to build new apps.

The Aligned developer community

The Aligned developer community is growing, now with more than 290 members! We appreciate the variety of developer kits created during this hackathon, which will benefit other builders interested in developing ZK apps and using Aligned. Be sure to join our Telegram group for future hackathons, updates, and direct access to our developer-related content here.

Thank you to all participants!

We can’t wait to see where these projects go next. Stay tuned for more opportunities and initiatives to build together.

Check out our previous blog post, “Hackathon Reflections”, for more highlights and achievements here.

Congratulations once again to our winners and every participant! 🚀

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